BreakingEthiopian elected as head of the WHO

Ethiopia's former Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom has been elected as the new head of the UN's World Health Organization.

He beat the British candidate David Nabarro in the third round of voting.

He will be the first African to head the WHO. But his election has not been without controversy with Ethiopian opposition groups saying that this will raise the diplomatic profile of a country accused of human rights violations.

BreakingManchester attacker named

The senior police officer in Manchester, Ian Hopkins, has named Salman Abedi, 22, as the suspect who exploded a bomb at a pop concert Monday night killing 22 people.

A BBC correspondent said he is believed to have been born in Manchester, and his family is of Libyan origin.

During the day, another unnamed suspect aged 23 was arrested in south Manchester, and police say they carried out two other raids on properties - one in which they gained entry using a controlled explosive.

Ethiopians celebrate Tedros lead

Posted at17:3223 May

As delegates at the World Health Organization vote in the third round to see who will next lead the UN body, Ethiopians outside the headquarters in Geneva have been celebrating Tedros Adhanom's performance in the first and second round.

Two peacekeepers killed in Mali

Minusma's chief Mahamat Saleh Annadif said: "This attack adds to a wave of violence that, over the past few weeks, has targeted the civilian populations, the Malian Armed Forces and the International Forces without distinction.

"The violence is aimed only at undermining the peace camp's efforts to bring stability and unity to Mali."

Has Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony been defeated?

Posted at14:4923 May

The international hunt for Joseph Kony seems to be over, but the notorious rebel leader, who was first chased from his native Uganda to South Sudan and then to the Central African Republic, is still at large.

In 2011, lobbying led by US charity Invisible Children prompted President Barack Obama to send about 100 soldiers to support the country's dealing with the LRA.

The aim of the mission was to back armies that have "the goal of removing from the battlefield Joseph Kony and other senior leadership of the LRA".

Six years on, Kony is still on the run and has a small force of around 100 fighters. But the US and Uganda, which had more than 2,000 soldiers in the CAR, have ended their mission.

So what do those civilians most vulnerable to attacks from Kony's Lord's Resistance Army do now?

FGM 'is not an African issue, it's a global issue'

Leyla Hussein recalls the screams of her sister and the moment when, as a young girl growing up in Somalia, she realised something terrible was about to happen to her.

Three decades later, now a prominent anti-FGM campaigner based in the UK, Ms Hussein has been sharing her story with the audience at the Oslo Freedom Forum in Norway.

She remembers what happened after she had been cut:
"I was taken to a room that was full of gifts: there was a gold watch, sweets and chocolates. I wasn't allowed the chocolates because apparently I'd made too much of a fuss."

SA labour federation bans Zuma from its rallies

The
Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), a long-time ally of the
governing African National Congress (ANC), has banned President Jacob Zuma from
addressing its activities.

Reading
from a statement at a media briefing on Tuesday following its special executive committee meeting, Coastu secretary-general Bheki Ntshalintshali said: “Comrade Jacob Zuma will no longer be welcome to address Cosatu initiatives.”

Mr Zuma was booed at a May Day rally organised by Cosatu earlier this month.

Factionalism has divided the ANC ahead
of its conference at the end of this year, where Mr Zuma is expected
to step down as leader of the party.

The
country’s largest labour federation reiterated its call that it no longer supports his leadership.

Koran reciters gather to pray for Buhari

The government of Nigeria's northern state of Zamfara has brought together 500 Koran reciters to pray for ailing President Muhammadu Buhari, Premium Times reports.

An official from the state said the scholars were drawn from 14 local government areas in the state.

He added that they were also praying for the country.

If the president, as the leader of Nigeria, is not well, then it becomes the concern of all Nigerians to know that his recovery is highly important to us as a people and as a nation.

We have organised different prayer sessions throughout the state and we believe the... prayers will be of immense benefit for our state, its leaders and people and the nation, especially the president, who is now on medical treatment in London.’’

HRW says the situation is a result of years of obstruction of aid to the area by the Sudanese government and the rebels.

Researchers spoke to many witnesses including 30-year-old Amal Tutu, who lives a day's walk from the nearest hospital.

She said:

I had a miscarriage at five months, of twins. They came out and then there was a lot of bleeding, a lot of pain. There was no car, no painkillers. I had to walk to the hospital because the bleeding would not stop."

“Women and girls in the Nuba Mountains are suffering and dying from years without access to life-saving humanitarian aid,” adds Skye Wheeler, a researcher at Human Rights Watch.

SA minister apologises for sexting

A South African minister has apologised for sending sex-themed messages to a government employee, IOL reports.

Jeff Radebe, the Minister of the Presidency, said his actions were a "regrettable moment of weakness".

Mr Radebe, 64, sent the text messages to Siyasanga Mbambani, 29, a photographer with the government's communication team.

In March Sunday Times reported that Ms Mbambani was suspended by her boss after she was accused of making sexual overtures towards President Jacob Zuma and his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa, allegations she denied.

Ms Mbambani showed texts of her exchange with Mr Radebe to the Sunday Times to prove that she was being victimised, the report says.

Mr Radebe said that he regrets sending the texts and emails, saying it was "improper for a married man".

He added that there has never been a relationship and that the communication was never "acrimonious".

The minister, IOL reports, met with anti-apartheid stalwart Winnie Madikizela-Mandela on Sunday to explain his action and apologise. The report says he received some counselling.

Ms Mandela said that Mr Radebe should be forgiven for his actions because he had apologised:

We all make mistakes and we must take responsibility for them. It takes a real man to apologise, and Jeff has done that. I have known him from when he was a young boy, before he left the country to go into exile."

Ethiopian opposition groups are also critical of Mr Tedros. They accuse the government of human rights abuses and believe that through the WHO vote it is trying to raise the country's diplomatic profile.

The election is due to start at 12:00 GMT, the AFP news agency reports.

On Monday, proceedings at the meeting were interrupted by a protester shouting at Mr Tedros from a viewing balcony.

Tsvangirai to Mugabe 'step down now or face prosecution'

Posted at9:1323 May

Getty Images

Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has told President Robert Mugabe that he will be spared prosecution for alleged atrocities if he steps down and retires from active politics immediately, NewsDay reports.

He made the comments at a political rally saying Mr Mugabe, 93, needed "to pass the baton":

Mugabe should retire now because he no longer has the capacity to think much about this country anymore. We say the best way to get out of this quagmire is for you to retire. We will protect you wherever you will be."

He added that Mr Mugabe had done some "right for the country".

Mr Tsvangirai, who is working on an opposition coalition with former Vice-President Joice Mujuru to take on the ruling Zanu PF in the election next year, said that they needed a strong team to build trust if they were to succeed.